The art of erecting and sealing cartons which are produced by the cutting of corrugated board into various shapes, depending upon the requirements, is now carried out to a great extent by automatic sealers. These take a flattened carton blank and will fold the side and seal the bottom of the carton, as the carton moves through the sealing unit. In addition, when the carton arrives at the position where the bottom flaps are to be sealed with the inturned end flaps, a pad, carried from above, is moved vertically downward to engage the bottom and end flaps. The pad is to insure that the end flaps are held against the bottom, side flaps that are turned in to effect the completion and sealing of the bottom of the carton.
It should be pointed out that in the sealer made and sold by the ABC Company, as the blank moves through the sealing unit, the appropriate glue is applied to those areas of the carton which are to become sealed. The seal is made when placed in compression by the pressing pad entering through the top of the carton and engaging the closed bottom. The adhesive may be applied in the ABC sealer by rolls or by wheels; however, some glue may be applied to corrugated cartons by using spray heads, which will spray glue onto the flaps or other portions of the carton which are to be subsequently sealed.
Frequently it has become desirable to perform other sealing functions than that provided for by the ABC sealer. It has been the usual practice to perform these additional functions by hand, or on a separate sealing line or machine.
It is an object of this invention to provide apparatus which is used in conjunction with the ABC sealer to provide an automatic system for sealing the top end flaps downwardly and inwardly against the end walls of the carton during the assembly and sealing of the carton on the assembly machine.
It is the further object of this invention to provide apparatus for operating in conjunction with the vertical movement of the sealing pad of an ABC sealer to effect the sealing of the top end flap downwardly and inwardly with respect to the side wall of the carton.